METHOD OF ANIMATION [Archive]

dynafx

08-06-2005, 03:17 PM

This is how its done in production environment, & i found this from SHAWNKELLY 
 
<table border="0" width="75%">
<t><tr><td width="13%">1st
Pass 
[BLOCKING] </td>
<td width="87%"><ul><li>Timing
of Action</li><li>Main
Poses</li><li>Suggest
Emotion 
(include rough eye animation)</li></ul></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2nd
Pass</td>
<td><ul><li>Breakdown
Poses</li><li>Offset</li><li>Successive
breaking of joints</li><li>Suggest
Overlap & Follow through</li></ul></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3rd
Pass</td>
<td><ul><li>Inbetween
Poses</li><li>Finish
offsetting body parts</li><li>Fingers/Toes</li><li>Check
+ Adjust arcs</li><li>Finish
Overlap & Follow through</li><li>Finish
Eye animation</li><li>Foot
shuffles</li><li>Knees</li></ul></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Final
Pass</td>
<td><ul><li>Facial
animation</li><li>Lip
sync</li><li>Muscle
animation</li></ul></td></tr></t>
</table>

dynafx

08-06-2005, 04:02 PM

<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION - PLANNING 
 

<div style="text-align: left;">
From time to time between ?casts (believe me, it?s a lot faster to
write than to cut a show) I?ve decided to start posting some animation
notes I?ve collected/written for myself over the years. I won?t commit
to how often or in-depth this will be, but it?s better than a poke in
the eye with a sharp stick, right?

I?ll start with some notes
I put together for a talk I gave about the fundamentals of animation.
They may not be the same as someone else?s list, but they are the
things I wouldn?t animate without. Rather than just dump them all at
once, I?d rather post one at a time and hopefully you?ll have a chance
to read through them and add thoughts or ask questions.

 
Here?s my list of the can?t-do-without Principles of Animation:

<ul>

Planning 
Posing 
Squash & Stretch 
Anticipation 
Timing 
Drag & Overlapping Action 
Arcs 
Secondary Action 
Exaggerration
</ul>

This list isn?t a how-to, and it?s certainly not all-inclusive. It?s more of a ?how-I-think-about? these principles.

It?s
an outline for a talk, so, as you?ll see, the notes are fairly brief.
I?d love to hear what you think about these things, and I?ll try to
clarify whenever it?s not totally explained in the outline. Although
I?m not posting the clips I showed to illustrate my points, I still
think this outline is a worthwhile read. And, of course, I want to
learn too, so if you have something to add or take away, I?d love to
hear about it in the comments. Eventually these principles will all be
compiled <a href="http://www.animationpodcast.com/animation-notebook/animation-principles/" target="_blank">on one page</a>. For now, here?s?

<h3>PLANNING</h3>

<div ="entrytext"><li ="row0">Ask yourself: "What would I like to see on the screen?"
<ul><li ="row1">Give people their money's worth: "If I were paying good money to see this, what would I expect?"</li><li ="row0">Imagine in your mind: "the ideal version of this shot" and aim for that</li><li ="row1">Entertainment
<ul><li ="row0">It's the relationship with the audience that makes entertainment work because:
<ul><li ="row1">They have an expectation and it's our job to give it to them in an unexpected way
<ul><li ="row0">Applies to all forms of storytelling and animation is a part of that</li><li ="row1">If you have a shot of someone picking up a box and it's done exactly like you'd expect, there's no entertainment</li><li ="row0">The movie Jaws (or any great movie) is an excellent example of this:
<ul><li ="row1">As
the audience we know there's a shark and the expectation is obvious -
the humans will win (at least we hope). Then why is it entertaining and
why don't people just walk out before it's over when we know WHAT will
happen? Because they want to see HOW it happens. That's the part they
can't predict. That's where we have to be creative, surprising,
inventive, and original. When's the last time you heard someone say "Oh
you've got to see that movie, it's so predictable!" This is how we
should approach every aspect of a film - from the story, to the
indiviual acts, to the sequence, to the scene, all the way down to the
individual shot.</li>
</ul>
</li></ul>
</li></ul>
</li></ul>
</li><li ="row0">Three types of reactions according to philosopher Arthur Koestler - HA! HA!, AHA!, & AAH!
<ul><li ="row1">HA! HA!
(humor) we laugh when we unexpectedly see the same thing in two frames
of reference (there's "the expected in an unexpected way" again) <ul><li ="row0">In it's broadest sense - this is why jokes are funny</li><li ="row0">First frame of reference: ?Last night I shot an elephant in my pajamas.? Second frame of reference: ?What he was doing in my pajamas I have no idea.?</li></ul>
</li><li ="row1">AHA! (insight, discovery) combining two different things so that the sum is greater than the parts
<ul><li ="row0">This is why mysteries are so popular - they provide built in insight</li></ul>
</li><li ="row1">AAH! (self-transcending) lose yourself in an experience; when you find yourself transported to another frame of existence
<ul><li ="row0">Some movies get to this point, but not most. These are the moments that have the greatest effect on people.</li><li ="row1">Some animation moments I can think of where I lose myself in the movie:
<ul><li ="row0">The dwarfs crying in Snow White</li><li ="row1">The Beast's transformation in Beauty and the Beast</li><li ="row0">When the Iron Giant says, "Superman"</li><li ="row1">When Dumbo flies</li><li ="row0">Gollum arguing with himself</li><li ="row1">Mufasa's death in The Lion King</li><li ="row0">Moses discovering the burning bush in Prince of Egypt</li><li ="row1">The chase in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow</li><li ="row0">For me, all of Peter Pan</li></ul>
</li></ul>
</li><li ="row1">To me, every moment should be one of these three
<ul><li ="row0">If a shot doesn?t accomplish one of these, or at least lead to one, I question whether it is worth anyone?s time.</li><li ="row0">What
they all have in common is that they allow the audience to feel smart.
This is one of the most powerful tools in making movies, when the
audience feels like they've made a connection between two seemingly
unrelated ideas. It happens all the time and if the filmmaker has laid
in all the clues in a sneaky (not obvious) way, it engages the viewer
and keeps them hooked. The audience is actually participating in the
film instead of it being hand delivered to them.</li>
</ul>
</li></ul>
</li><li ="row1">If you can imagine what you want to see, half your work is done
<ul><li ="row0">Picture
it in your head - close your eyes and see the edges of the screen, the
set, and what the character is doing. It takes practice, but it's a
skill that can be developed.</li></ul>
</li></ul>
</li>
<li ="row1">Thumbnail - they don't have to be works of art, they are just a map
<ul><li ="row0">They are your storytelling poses (key poses of the shot)</li><li ="row1">Work out the best poses and, if needed, how to get from one pose to another (breakdowns)</li></ul> http://www.animationpodcast.com/archives/2005/05/25/principl es-planning/ 
</li></div>
</div>

</div>

Aatur

05-10-2005, 04:52 AM

24 animation fundamentals by Jeremy Cantor 

The 12 (er...24)
fundamental principles of animation (updated 06/28/03) 
 
(As partially listed in "Disney Animation - The Illusion of Life" by Frank
Thomas & Ollie Johnston) 

Jeremy Cantor ? Animation
Supervisor ? Sony Pictures Imageworks - May 4th, 2002 
 
 

1. Squash & Stretch:
Organic objects tend to have some degree of
malleability. When forces act upon them they will deform appropriately depending
on the nature, direction & degree of the forces. When applying squash & stretch
in your animations, it is important to remember that, if volume is not
maintained, your object will appear to be expanding or contracting. If you
squash a tennis ball vertically, it should simultaneously widen horizontally.
Squash & Stretch can also be applied to rigid, articulated structures. When the
structure compresses, certain joints will rotate off to the side. When you drop
from a standing position into a squat, your hips move down while your knees move
sideways. Your legs can be said to be squashing and stretching, even though the
individual joints are not compressing or expanding.

2. Anticipation:
The setup before the main action. It lets the audience
know that something is about to happen. For instance: reaching behind you with
your fist before delivering a punch. A boxer tries to avoid anticipation
(telegraphing) when throwing a jab. 

3. Staging &
Composition: The clear presentation of an idea. What
is the story being told? What is the best way to tell this story? What are the
appropriate camera angles & screen direction? Is the flow of the scene guiding
the viewer?s eyes as intended? Are your poses strong? If you arbitrarily
?freeze-frame?, will the resulting still-image be a well-composed work of art?
Do the elements of your scene work together visually? Are your object?s
trajectories too linear? Or perhaps too complex? Are important elements of your
scene hidden behind less important elements?

4. Straight Ahead
Action vs Pose to Pose: Two methods of animating.
Straight ahead involves stepping through the individual frames of your scene &
manipulating them sequentially. Pose to pose involves defining the 
extremes and then filling in the spaces inbetween. Stop motion can
only be done via Straight Ahead. Cel animation can be done either way. Straight
ahead usually requires more pre-planning. 

5. Follow Through &
Overlapping Action: Follow through is the extension of
a main action. For instance, the continuation of a tennis-stroke after
the ball contact. Follow-through is also evident when a secondary appendage
(tail, antenna) is indirectly driven by the primary motion of the body.
Follow-through will occur later than the main action because the force
dictating the main action takes longer to reach the appendages. When an object
in motion changes direction, stops accelerating or stops completely, secondary
parts of that object will continue in the original direction after the change in
the main force. A woman's dress fluffing forward after she stops walking. A
ponytail bouncing in an "S" motion when someone jumps up and down.
Follow-through is often reduced if an appendage has (and uses) its own muscles.
When a cat runs, the muscles of its tail often tighten to reduce follow-through
& maintain balance. Overlap is the concept that not all moving parts of your
body will start and end at exactly the same time. If you turn your head and
point, your arm movement might begin before your head finishes turning. Overlap
is nonexistent if the head and arm start & stop on the same frame or if the arm
waits to move until the head has completed its motion. Such non-overlapped
motions tend to look robotic.  

6. Slow In/Slow Out:
Organic motion tends to accelerate and decelerate into
and out of action. (Except when met with a force that causes an abrupt stop or
direction change.) This type of motion often does not apply to mechanical
objects. 

7. Arcs: 
The parts of an articulated skeleton move as a result of joint
rotations. When a wrist travels from point A to point B, it does so as a result
of elbow and shoulder (etc) rotation. Therefore, the motion will tend to arc. It
is possible to move one's wrist in a straight line, however, continuous
compensatory adjustments in the rest of the arm are required to achieve this
motion and such movements tend to look less organic (or at least more deliberate
- like a straight punch). If you want a character to move like a robot, ignore
the concepts of arcs, overlap and slow in/slow out. 

8. Secondary Action:
Any motion that is 2ndary to the main action. For
instance: drumming your fingers on your knee while talking. 2ndary actions often
reveal emotional subtleties or hidden thoughts. If the 2ndary action pulls the
viewer's attention away from the main action, however, it becomes the main
action. 

9. Timing: 
Varying speed of motion can indicate different types &
strengths of forces. Timing can demonstrate different attitudes. Turning one's
head very quickly implies a different motivation from doing so slowly. Fast
walks can imply determination. Slow walks can imply depression. Metronomic
timing is usually undesirable. 

10. Exaggeration:
Exaggeration is used to increase the readability of
emotions and actions. Animation mediums don't deliver all of the same
information as does real life. A video screen is not truly 3-D. Sound comes from
a single source. Depth perception is not interactive. Because of the limited
information being delivered, it's often necessary to exaggerate in order to
effectively tell the story of a particular performance. Effective exaggeration
isn?t always a matter of making a motion larger, though. Significantly 
decreasing an action is also a type of exaggeration. Accentuating the
subtleties, that is. Completely stopping a character's motion for an unnaturally
long period of time can demonstrate a particular emotion: Perhaps impatience or
disgust. Exaggeration is, of course, especially apparent in cartoon-style
animation. 

11. Solid Drawing:
In cel animation, each individual drawing should be a
successful work of art on its own. This adds to the appeal & readability of a
performance. It is also important to stay "on model". Each drawing should look
like the character being presented. It is distracting when the size of a
character's head is inconsistent during the course of an animation. 


12. Appeal: 
Is the presentation of your idea pleasant to look at? (Or
unpleasant if that is the intention). Are general aesthetics being effectively
applied (composition, character design, color, camera angles, etc)? 
  
And 12 more... 
  
13. Simplicity & Readability: 
Don't unnecessarily overcomplicate your scene, character or
performance. Do just enough to tell the story. Too much secondary and too many
details can sometimes confuse the issue and make the idea being presented
unclear.

14. Posing: 
A subset of "staging". Interesting poses are extremely
important for effective & natural-looking animation. Pay attention to center of
gravity issues (does your character look like he's going to fall down?). It?s
usually a good idea to avoid too much symmetry in your poses. One hip is often a
little higher than the other. Weight is rarely distributed evenly over both
feet. How does the silhouette read?  

15. Forces: 
An object moves when forces are applied to it. Consider where
these forces are coming from. Are they being generated from within (desire,
intention, muscle movement) or from without (gravity, the wind, a push from
another character)? The origin, magnitude, direction & duration of these forces
will dictate how your characters move. How is your character affected by these
forces? Does your character resist them or does he ?go with the flow?? Do
multiple forces cancel out one another? Understand a force?s ?attack & decay?.
How powerful is the initial ?hit? of the force? How long does an object continue
reacting to the force? Consider the material of the object. Rubber ?decays?
slower than cloth.   

16. Weight: 
Demonstrating the implied mass of a character. This is a
function of the proper application of squash & stretch, anticipation, follow
through, overlap, timing, exaggeration, and slow in/slow out. Whether or not a
character looks especially heavy or especially light when getting up from a
chair is dependent upon how these principles are applied. A heavier object
requires more force to set it in motion. This is often demonstrated by
increasing anticipation. Likewise, it requires more force to slow, stop or
reverse the direction of a heavier object. Placement of your character?s center
of gravity is an important aspect of weight. Physics rules indicate that a
static object?s center of gravity must be directly above or below the average of
its point(s) of suspension. For instance, when you stand on one foot, your COG
needs to be directly above your support foot. Otherwise, you will begin to fall.
Of course, this all changes if you are in motion. Pay attention to
pivot/leverage points as well. Watch out for isolated body part movements. Even
the simplest arm move often involves contributing motion from the shoulder &
torso. Keeping your individual body parts appropriately working together is
another way of indicating weight.

17. Twinning &
Texture: To maintain natural-looking performances, it
is usually desirable to break up the motion of individual body parts so they are
not doing the exact same thing at the exact same time. ie: when slapping your
character?s hands on a table, you might want the left hand to hit a frame or two
before the right. A variation of the twinning concept is when members of a swarm
or flock are exactly mimicking one other. Pay attention to the overall ?texture?
when animating groups of objects or characters. Consider a flock of birds or a
field of grass reacting to the wind. What is the overall feel of the group? Is
there enough variety in the trajectories of the individual elements? Is every
bird flapping its wings at the exact same frequency? Is the wind affecting every
blade of grass in exactly the same manner at exactly the same time? Are the
individual elements supposed to be working together? If so, are you using an
appropriate amount of variation between these individuals? Are your synchronized
swimmers exactly synchronized? If so, is this intentional? Even when individual
members of a group try to copy one another exactly, minor variations often
occur.

18. Details: 
Sometimes the difference between a good animation and a great
animation comes from effective attention to detail. You never know where a
viewer's eyes may be wandering. Just because the main focus of a shot is on your
character's face, don't forget to animate the toes. Details like thigh muscles
jiggling when a foot hits the ground add to the naturalism of a performance &
can help tell the story. Introducing naturalistic imperfections will also add to
the believability of your shot. Keep in mind, however, that it is usually not
desirable to confuse the action with too many details. (see principle #13) Watch
out for technical glitches such as geometry intersections and IK ?pops?.
Material integrity is also an important detail to consider. Is it appropriate to
squash & stretch a rigid object such as a stone? Some animators will do this as
an aesthetic choice. Others prefer to follow realistic rules of physics. And
don?t try to hide animation errors behind overly detailed modeling, lighting,
texture maps & particle effects. This is an undesirable variation of the
?attention to detail? concept. Consistent style, physics and quality are also
important details to maintain.

19. Planning Ahead:
It's always a good idea to plan out a performance
before starting. Act out the motion with a stopwatch and take down some numbers.
This is very important in stop motion where it's impossible to go back and fix
an individual part of a performance after it has been filmed. It's especially
important to plan ahead when you have a deadline. Most of us rarely have the
opportunity to animate by trial and error. As the carpenters say: Measure twice,
cut once. 

20. Hookups &
Continuity: To maintain flow and readability, each
scene needs to ?cut? properly with the next. Are the spacial relationships
between your characters consistent from one scene to the next? Does an object?s
trajectory look like it continues sensibly after a camera cut? Does the new
camera position confuse the clarity of the action? If you cut away from a
particular action then return later, do the changes in the scene make sense with
the length of the time lapse? Do your actions overlap? Should they?  Sometimes
it is desirable to intentionally break the rules of continuity, but care should
be taken when doing so.

21. Acting: 
Animation is acting. Always keep this in mind. What is your
character's motivation & emotional state? Such information should be revealed in
your performances. A shot?s story can't be told if the characters are simply
moving through the scene without any indication of intention or personality.
Always ask ?why?? Every movement should have a purpose. Arbitrary motions rarely
contribute anything to a character?s performance. Contrasts are an important
element in acting as well. Animating the same character with significant
contrasts in timing can imply completely different personalities & motivations. 
 

22.
Blocking/Refining: A third method of animating as
opposed to Straight Ahead or Pose to Pose. This method (very often utilized in
CG) involves initially establishing the overall posing, timing and trajectories
of your character as a "blocking" phase. Details are added after these global
issues are refined and approved. Similar to the (sometimes) preferred method of
painting where the overall composition and colors are established rather
abstractly and the image slowly comes together as a whole as the details are
refined with smaller and smaller brushes. As opposed to finishing one corner of
the painting before moving on to another. This blocking/refining method is
especially desirable in CG so that global timing can be refined before there are
a huge number of keyframes to tweak. 

23. Understanding The
Principles: It's not enough to simply be able to
recite these principles from memory. To animate effectively, you must truly
understand them. These principles need to be applied appropriately, and
sometimes certain ones need to be left out entirely. For example, a cat does not
crouch down in anticipation before jumping up because its natural posture is
already an anticipatory crouch. And while it is certainly okay to squash &
stretch a bowling ball, bending the laws of physics thusly should be the result
of an aesthetic choice rather than blind implementation of the squash & stretch
principle. If you are asked to make your character look heavier, you can only
accomplish this if you truly understand which principles need to be applied and
how.  Rules are made to be broken, but one must truly understand a rule before
it can be broken creatively and appealingly. 
 
24. Forget the Rules: After you've studied and understood the fundamental
principles of animation, strive to use them instinctively rather than
methodically. Try not to get too caught up in the idea of applying them
academically at every turn. Often, it's better to turn off the analytical side
of your brain and follow your gut instead. Your best weapon as an animator is
your ability to self-critique objectively and effectively, especially in CG,
where trial and error is such a viable technique. When you review your own work,
don't ask yourself which of the fundamental principles are being applied
properly, rather simply ask yourself whether or not your animation feels
right. The ability to use the vocabulary of these principles is indeed important
when you are teaching or supervising, however, never forget that your instincts
as well as your innate and objective sense of style and appeal are much more
powerful production tools than any available list of rules or principles.

<edited><editID>aatur</editID><editDate>38629.7722916667</editDate></edited>

dynafx

09-11-2005, 06:59 PM

Jeff Lew put online a 34 minute quicktime of 4 complete chapters from his
DVD. The video is 120 mb and is compressed to 480x270 with mono sound. 

 

Here's the <a href="http://www.jefflewproductions.com/movies/Learning3Danimation_Free34min.mov" target="_blank">Link</a> 

 
 

Jeff

__________________ 

Learning 3D Character Animation DVD 
<a href="http://www.jefflew.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">www.jefflew.com</a> 
 
source: from cgtalk